Healings of hip dysplasia

Fusako Koike (47), Tokio (Japan)

In 1990, when I was just 30 years of age, I made an eight-hour flight to Hawaii. Afterward I got terrible pain in both legs that continued a long time. The doctor who treated me said that I had a congenital hip-joint malformation. The doctor recommended two alternatives - an immediate operation, since it could only be carried out on young patients. I couldn't decide on that because the operation and following therapy is very prolonged (four years altogether) since only one leg can be operated on at a time. At the time, my son was still a baby, so the possibility was out of the question for me. The other alternative was a later operation, however by then my hips would already be so damaged by the premature wear that both hips would have to be completely replaced with artificial joints. There was no other alternative. I decided to wait.